Chronicles of coaching American football in Sicily (2008 and 2009), in Sweden (2010 and 2016), in Switzerland (2012), winning a Division III National Championship in France (2012-13) and in Spain (2015 and 2016) as well as walking the Camino de Santiago in August-September of 2010.

About Me

I have been married to Laurie for over 45 years. Our oldest son, Andy, lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife Jenn and their son Kevin. Our youngest son Mike lives in Oxnard, California with his wife Vanessa and their kids Jacob and Mary. Although I retired from teaching in June of 2007, the 2015 football season marked my 45th year of coaching football at five high schools in Southern California's Ventura County - Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Rio Mesa, Buena and Newbury Park. In 2008, I opted to try something totally different in my coaching career and started coaching in Europe. My EuroBall stops have been in Catania, Sicily in 2008 and 2009, Hässleholm, Sweden in 2010, Thun, Switzerland in 2012, Lyon, France in 2012-13 with the 12-0 National Champion Bron-Villeurbanne Falcons, Murcia, Spain in 2015, Rivas, Spain in 2016 and finally Upplands-Väsby, Sweden in the Spring of 2016 and 2017. Join me as I explore and chronicle my newest adventures coaching American football in Europe. My European touring also included a 500 mile Pilgrimage Walk on the Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2010.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Paris Keeps Getting Better!

Armed with our Rick Steves Paris guide, we nourished ourselves with the very solid hotel Continental Breakfast and headed out for a day of sightseeing. We were blessed for a second straight day with mild temperatures and no humidity!

This post will have MANY pictures as I took almost 500 today!!!

The Pasteur Metro Station done in the fashionable Art Nouveau style.

Our metro station is located 30 meters from our hotel's doorway... VERY convenient!

We got off the Metro near the entrance to the Tuileries Garden.

We were greeted by the Eiffel Tower and this beautiful roundabout. Well the red lifts aren't all that scenery enhancing but I did like the color they added to the picture.

I admit it, the Eiffel Tower is addicting.

Part of the Pont Alexandre

Is that the Eiffel Tower on the left?

Finally, after walking through the beautiful Tuileries Garden we arrive at The Louvre Museum.

Da Vinci Code anyone?

Not all the art is inside the Louvre

This gate faces the glass pyramid.

We are not alone!

It looks crowded in this picture but the Louvre today was very easy to maneuver around. Were we lucky or was it the fact that we entered at about 9:30 a.m. while most tourists still slept?

1789, The French Revolution

It's funny how 219 years ago, just as they would today, men would follow a topless woman just about anywhere!

Sainte Georges, saving a naked damsel in distress by slaying the dragon!

Saint George, San Giorgio, Sainte Georges... in any language I love this version of the story!

Winged Victory

I've seen pictures of it since my 9th grade World History class with Father Baptist at St. Francis H.S. in 1961. It was my favorite class of all time, he was a GREAT teacher! I still have my notebooks from this class in storage in our attic.

Overwhelmed

There is SOOOOOO much art to see! I don't even know who painted this but I love the vibrant colors and clarity of the characters in it.

Sainte Pierre

Yes, in a "Does anybody have two Advil?" moment, that IS a meat cleaver in his head!

Two Mysterious Women

Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Contreras' Laurie

Da Vinci's "Madonna of the Rocks"

I tried to look behind it for some clues but the guard would not take her eyes off me! She knew...

A painting by Giulio Romano

He is not just a pretty face studying about bipolos!

The Venus de Milo

The Code of Hammurabi

We studied this code and it's 282 laws every semester that I taught either American Government or Criminal Justice.

From Mesopotamia and written around 2250 B.C., they are the oldest set of written laws known to date! They were only discovered a little over 100 years ago.

Four Crazy Coeds in Paris for some fun!

The World's Oldest Rasta Man!

A classic Man vs. Snake Battle

Hercules I believe.

The view of the Louvre from inside the glass pyramid.

Do you think St. Mary Magdalene is REALLY buried under this small pyramid?

Did I mention that Paris Metro Stations are really just an excuse to display Art Nouveau works?

The Cathedral of Sainte-Chapelle

We only walked by it on Friday, we'll visit it Saturday

St. Denis, the Patron Saint of Paris

The fourth century bishop of Paris, he was beheaded for his faith as you may surmise. This statue is found in the left entryway of the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

The top of the left entryway of the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

The middle portal into Notre Dame

Charlemagne

Take a close look at the beards these two are sporting.

Part of the charm of Paris is people watching.

These two are taking a break outside Notre Dame.

The Deportation Memorial

There are 200,000 lights in this hallway, one for each of the Parisian Jews who were deported during World war II by the Nazis never to return.

You can people watch on the Ile St. Louis too!

Day 2 in Paris, time to try another Berthillon's Orange Sanguine sorbet.

This is the original Berthillon's ice cream parlor on Ile St. Louis

Delicious, Expensive and Small but we're addicts so they got us!

I went here to report the price gouging at Berthillon's to the proper authorities but got nowhere.

We took the Seine River Cruise and got our first close up look at the Eiffel Tower.